Puzzle game board and pieces



Jan. 22, C, Q BROWN PUZZLE GAME BOARD AND PIECES Filed April 14, 1955 United States Patent O l PUZZLE GAME BOARD AND PIECES Calvin 0. Brown, Cary, Ill.,fassignor, by mesne assignments, to Set Screw & Mfg. Company, Bartlett, Ill., a y

corporation of Illinois Application April 14, 1953, Serial No. 348,660 9 Claims. (Cl. 273-133) This is a puzzle game invention, the game being useful for amusement as well as educational purposes whet-herfv Games of the instant played by adults or children. character tend to stimulate the powers of logic and reasoning and may be employed in testing physical and mental Aabilities as well as for pure pleasure. In one sense, the instant invention may be considered to be a modied form yof the game illustrated, described and claimed in my Patent No. 2,712,938 of July l2, 1955, and, to the extent applicable, said patent is -to be considered as incorporated herein by reference.

The principal objects of the instant invention are to provide a simple and inexpensive apparatus including game board and game or playing pieces and to provide a game suitable for amusement, educational, training and testing purposes.

The essentials of the game are a playing board having a predetermined number and arrangement of playing positions or stations indicated or marked on the playing face thereof and a set of playing pieces readily movable from station to station in some pre-chosen, d-enite order or manner to obtain, at the end yof the game, some predetermined ior given resulting arrangement. While the game may employ various numbers `of stations on the playing board and various numbers of playing pieces, lthe presently preferred board construction, number and arrangement of playing stations, and number and character of playing pieces are illustrated in the drawings, in which:

Fig. lis a .top plan View of a game board constructed after the presently preferred form of the invention, the

view showing the preferred arrangement and number of playing stations and sixteen game or playing piecesy of a preferred type disposed in one initial pattern of positions ready for playing operations;

Fig. 2 is also fa top plan view of the board of Fig. 1,V

showing the playing piecesarranged thereon inthe posi- `tions they may occupy after playing from thev positions shown in Fig. 1 has been completed; and

Fig. 3 shows a section of a fragment of the board of Fig. A1 and Fig. 2 revealing the preferred playing piece playingpieces P which, conveniently, may be similar to set screws of the full dog point type. Since theplaying piece shanks E are cylindrical, theholes S 'prefer-- ably will also be cylindrical but of slightly greaterdiameter than the Shanks as shown in Fig. 3, so that the shanks make an easy fit within the holes in the playing board. The shapes of the playing pieces and the crosssectional shapes of the holes to receive the playing pieces are relatively immaterial, as other types of playing piece may be employed and the playing stations may merely be marked on the board surface. Nevertheless it is preferred that the board, playing stations, and playing pieces be r so designed and constructed that the playing pieces once placed in their positions, will be held in those positions and against accidental displacement therefrom, it being desirable that only positive movement by a player of the game shall effect displacement of a playing piece from one position to another.

Playing stations S, in the instant embodiment, are thirty-three ('33) in number and are 'arranged in rows l in each of two general rectangular groups forming what may be termed a double diamondlpattern wherein a single station, here designated 17, is common to each pattern group, that is, the single station 17 forms one of the points constituting the junction between adjacent sides of each'of the station pattern groups. symmetrically disposed, with respect to the pattern groups and at opposite sides of the station 17, are two stations designated 13 and 21. Each of stations 13 and 21 may be so disposed with respect to adjacent stations in the two pattern groups as to fall into the alignment with the rows containing adjacent stations in the pattern groups. This is the arrangement shown in Fig. l and Fig. 2.

While there are thirty-three playing positions or station holes S, the game normally will utilize sixteen (16) .or less playing pieces of which one, .two or three may be diterentiated, as by color, configuration, size or otherwise, from the other playing pieces, which may be similar to one another in their color, configuration, size, etc.

The drawing illustrates three of the sixteen playing pieces as gold in color and thirteen of silver color, the gold pieces being (and to be) located either at the stations 7, 10 and 11, or at stations 23, 24 and 27, each of said stations being specially indicated or designated by a ring groove G in the board surface.

Various games may be played with the board and the sixteen playing pieces and there may be two or more solutions, some of the games depending on the method of play chosen and the rules of play. The following examples of games may be considered as illustrative:

Example 1 The sixteen playing pieces are arranged as illustrated in Fig. l in the positions 1 to 12, inclusive, and 14 to 17, inclusive, with the three gold playing pieces disposed in positions or stations 7, 10 and 11. The object of the game is to move all of the playing pieces from these initial positions or stations to positions 18 Ito 20, inclusive, and 22 to 23, inclusive, with the gold playing pieces finally disposed in positions 23, 24 and 27. The plays are made by jumping ori'e playing piece over yanother to a vacant hole with a maximum of plays in straight lines moving forward and a minimum 4of plays moving transversely lor laterally of the board, with no plays 'being made backward, the objective also being to complete the gaine with a minimum total number of moves. Starting from the set positions of Fig. land with the above objects and "rules in mind, the following forty-eight moves or 'playsy the number-of playing pieces.

the bottom iin reverse order.

will dispose the playing pieces in the positions illustrated in Fig. 2:

spaced relation to one another, the stations being arranged in two adjacent groups each of which is a parallelogram Continuing Continuing Continuing Move No. From To- Move Move Move No. No. No.

From- To- 'From- To- From- To- -E-xample2.-Playing with-ten playing pieces 'of which one'may be gold and nine silver, for instance, and starting with the gold piece in position 11 and the -other nine silver piecesin positions 4, 7, 8, '10, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17, and jumping as before, the same-piecesmay be transferred topositions 17 to 20, inclusive, 22 to 24, inclusive, 26, 27 and 30, with the gold piece in position 23 (corresponding topposition 1-1y in the rst pattern group) by the following in pattern and substantially symmetrical with respect to vthe other, one station being common to both pattern groups, said one station forming the apex of the juncture between a pair of adjacent sides of each of the parallelogram patterns, there being one station at each of opposite sides of said one common station disposed symmetrically with respect to ysaid pattern groups, and Aplaying pieces in 25 number equal to the total of the number of stations in a moves: group including said one apex station, said playing pieces Continuing Continuing Continuing Move No. From- To- Move Mov Move No. No. No.

From- To- From- To- From To- 16 18 16 18 21 23 (1e)- 4 12 14 16 12 22 1s 27 17)-- 17 26 17 19 7 16 22 24 18)- s 17 15 17 10 12 1e 1s (19)-. 22 a0 18 20 11 21 12 22 (20)-- 12 22 Other variations and innovations may be devised. Pat- -terns Vforthe playing stati-ons and the rules employed may lbechangedand'the number of rows of playing stations `may be increased or decreased with or without an increase lor decrease inthe number of playing stations or positions -pl'ayed by the methods yand rules indicated above to Wind up in a particular one of the three ringed positions in the othergpattern'group. Many other variations and arrangements can be devised. Accordingly I wish to beflimited "only las determinedby the invention spirit and the `scope of the'appended claims.

I claim: -l. A puzzle game comprising a playing board having 'thirty-onevplaying stations indicated thereon in spaced relation to one another, the stat-ions being arranged in two adjacent groups each of which is `a parallelogram in pattern and substantially symmetrical with respect to Vthe other with 'one station common to both pattern groups, said one station forming the apex of the juncture 'between "vapairof adjacent sides of eac-h of the parallelogram pat- -terns,"there being an additional station at each of opposite `sides of said one station disposed symmetrically with respect'to sald pattern groups, 4and playing pieces in num- 'ber 'equal to the total of the number of stations ina group including 4said one apex station, three of said stations in each "group being specially marked and located in rela- `tively corresponding positions within the respective groups.

2. A- puzzle game comp-rising a playing board havinga total of thirty-three playing stations indicated thereon in including three pieces of like type dilferentiated from the balance of the playing pieces.

3. A puzzle game comprising a playing 'board having thirty-three playing stations indicated thereon in spaced relation to one another, the stations being arranged in two groups 'adjacent to one another and each of which forms 'a 'parallelogram in pattern and is substantially symmetrical with respect to the other, one station being common to both pattern groups, said one station forming the apex of Vthe juncture between a pair of adjacent sides of each of the patterns, there being one station at each of opposite sides of said one station disposed symmetrically with `respect to said pattern groups.

4. A puzzle game comprising a playing board having thirty-one playing stations indicated thereon in spaced vrelation to one another, the stations being arranged in two groups adjacent to one another and each of which is a 'parallelogram 'having 'one pair of opposite corners 'aligned with one pair of opposite corners of the other group and-each of which groups is substantially -symmetrical lwith respect to the other with one station common to both patte-rn groups, said one station forming the lapex of the juncture between a pair of adjacent `sides of each of the patterns, there being an additional station at each of opposite sides of said one station disposed sym- 'metrically'with respect to said pattern groups, and playing pieces in number equal to the total of the number of stations in a group including said one apex station.

i5. vA puzzle game comprising a playing board having 'a' plurality of playing stations indicated thereon nfspaced relation to one another, the stations being yarranged in two groups adjacent to one another Iand each of which is 'a parallelogram having one pair of opposite corners aligned Withone pair of opposite corners of theiother group and =each of which groups is substantially vsymmetrical with respect to the other, one station being common to both pat- 'tern vgroups, said vone station forming the apex of the juncture between a pair of adjacent sides of each o f the patterns, vthere 'being an additional-station at each-of opposite `sides of said one station disposed symmetrically with `respect to said pattern groups, Iand playing pieces in number equal to the total of the number of stations in a group including said one apex station, said playing pieces including -three pieces of similarity but differentiated from -t-he remainder of the playing pieces.

6. A puzzle game comprising a playing board having -a plurality of playing stations indicated thereon in spaced relation to one another, the stations being arranged in two groups adjacent to another and each of which is a parallelogram lhaving one pair of opposite corners aligned with one pair of opposite corners of the other group and each of which groups is substantially symmet-rical with respect to the other, one station being common to both pattern groups, said one station forming the apex of the juncture between a pair of adjacent sides of each of the patterns, there being an additional station at eac-h of opposite sides of said one ystation disposed symmetrically with respect to said pattern groups, and playing pieces in number equal to the total of the number of stations in a group including said one apex station, said playing pieces including three pieces similar to one lanother but dieren- 4tiated from the remainder of the playing pieces, three of said stations in each group being specially marked and located in relatively corresponding position within the respective groups.

7. A puzzle game comprising a playing board havingv -a plurality of playing stations indicated thereon in spaced relation to one another, there being 'at least two adjacent groups of suc-h 'stations with at least -ten stations in each group, each group of stations being arranged in not less than four generally parallel rows within such group, the stations of each group being arranged to compose a pattern having four sides in -outline form, the group patterns being substantially symmetrical with respect to one another about a predetermined axis, there being one station on said axis that is common to both groups, said one station forming the 'apex of the juncture of eac-h of a pair of adjacent sides of each polygonal pattern, the station row in each group that is next adjacent to said one station con- -sisting of two stations and the successive live rows of each group -consisting of three, four, three, two and one stations, respectively, three stations within each group being distinctively marked, there also being an additional station at each of lopposite sides of said one station, said additional stations lying without said group patterns, and sixteen playing pieces of which there are lth-ree playing pieces distinctive from the balance.

8. A puzzle game comp-rising a playing board having a plurality of playing stations indicated thereon in spaced relation -to one another, there being at least two adjacent groups of such stations with sixteen stations in each group,

each group of stations being arranged in generally parallel rows within such group, the -stations of each group being arranged to compose a pattern having four sides in outline form, the group patterns being substantially symmetrical with respect lto one another about an axis common to both, there being one station on said axis that is common to both groups, said one station forming the apex of the juncture of each of a pair of adjacent sides of each polygonal pattern, the station row in each group that is next adjacent to said one station extending transversely of said axis and consisting of two stations and the successive -two rows of each group consisting of three Iand four stations, respectively, there also being an Vadditional station at each of opposite sides of said one lsta-tion symmetrically disposed with respect to said laxis yand a second axis perpendicular rto the rst and passing through said one station, said additional stations lying withou-t said group patterns, and playing pieces of which there are sixteen in number including three playing pieces distinctive from the balance.

9. A puzzle game comprising 'a playing board having a plurality of playing stations indicated thereon in spaced relation to one another, there being at least two adjacent groups of such stations with at least ten stations in each group, each group of stations being arranged in not less than four general-ly parallel rows within such group, the stations of each group 'being arranged to compose a polygonal pattern in outline form, the group patterns being substantially symmetrical with respect to one another about a predetermined Iaxis para'llel to said rows, there being one station on said axis that is common to 'both groups, said one lstation forming the apex of the juncture of each of a pair of adjacent sides of each polygonal pattern, the station row in each group that is next adjacent to said one station consisting of two stations and the successive five rows of each group consisting of three, four, three, two and one stations, respectively, there also being an additional station at each of opposite sides of said one station, said additional stations lying without said group patterns, and playing pieces of which there are a number equal 'to thenumber of stations in one group, such number of playing Ipieces including at least one playing piece distinctive from the balance.

` References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 357,923 Hanson Feb. l5, 1887 441,619 Haas Nov. 25, 1890 623,876 Breitenbach Apr. 25, 1899 1,133,546 Fitzgerald Mar. 30, 1915 2,712,938 Brown July 12, 1955 

